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March 18, 2015:

A DAY IN WHICH THINGS HAPPENED

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry because I must be up at six in the morning to announce the new Kritzerland title, which is Bernard Herrmann’s brilliant score to Beneath the 12-Mile Reef.  It’s one of his best scores, from the third Cinemascope feature, which starred Robert Wagner and Terry Moore.  These Herrmann titles do tend to sell out quickly, so grab this one.  Here’s the cover.

KL_Beneath_Reef_Cov72

Yesterday was a day in which things happened.  I got eight hours of sleep, sent in packaging for approval, Mr. Piano Man came and took the guts out of the piano – the keys, hammers and knuckles – leaving me with a grand piano with no keys, after which I headed over to the Hills of Beverly for another Sandy and Lanny rehearsal.

The rehearsal went very well, I gave some simple notes and adjusted a couple of patter things, and then we went to the California Pizza Kitchen for food – I had the Cedar Plank salmon and we all shared some spinach artichoke dip.  Then I came home – traffic wasn’t too pleasant coming back and the twenty-minute drive took fifty minutes.

Once home, I had a lot of e-mails to answer, and some telephonic calls to return, one of which was Richard M. Sherman, who finished Kritzer Time  – he told me he went through a box of Kleenex in the last forty pages.  He loved it and again reiterated how close our childhoods were.  He was very affected by the central story of Samantha Gilman and wanted to know if it had really happened.  I told him that it had and that the book was dedicated to the real girl.  And I told him that the real girl had done some extra work in movies as a kid, one of which was Pollyanna.  She can be seen in close proximity to Hayley Mills in one scene.  In any case, I was thrilled to hear his reaction.  I always know in advance with Kritzer Time that the last forty pages are going to make people sad, but that hopefully the last five pages bring things around to a nice and touching conclusion.  And every time people talk to me about the ending, I remember how it was to write it, how I could barely sit at the computer when I knew I was coming up to it, and how I finally just dove in and did it and not one word ever changed.  I wrote it all in one sitting, that section, and I was a basket case, wouldn’t talk to anyone, and was a complete and utter emotional wreck.  In real life, I didn’t know the real Samantha Gilman that long – less than a year, and the major event that happens really happened a couple of months after I’d graduated – she was still going to Hamilton.  For the book and story purposes, I made our friendship longer and much closer and made the event happen prior to graduation.  In that sense, a little of that is fictional, but the main part all happened – we were friends, we went for fries and Cokes a lot, and passed notes back and forth a lot.  But there are other things in each book, little stuff, that I had to fictionalize for story purposes, and that includes some of the Susan Pomeroy story.  But that’s what you do for the storytelling, which is everything.   If I had done nothing else in my life but write the three Kritzer books, I would have felt that I’d created something very special.

For my evening snack, I went to Popeye’s and got one chicken breast.  I don’t think I’d been there in over three years.  It was quite yummilicious.  I proofed another twenty pages or so of the final book design, then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched two more episodes of House of Cards.  Other than a few good scenes, they were just ordinary and the show, which had totally gone off the rails by the end of season two, has now morphed into something that’s just not very interesting or fun anymore.  I’m hoping the last episodes are better.

Today, I will be up at six to announce Beneath the 12-Mile Reef.  Then I have an appointment to get coifed by Teddy at ten.  After that, I’ll either come directly home, or go to Hollywood to take some photographs, one of which I hope will be the cover of the new book.  I’ll eat, hopefully pick up some packages, hopefully print out a LOT of orders, do some ALS work, choose the final two songs for the Kritzerland show, and relax.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, announce a new title, get coifed by Teddy, take some photographs, eat, hopefully pick up packages, choose songs and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like.  So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that I had a day in which things happened.

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